I'm the manager of a cafe and I think there needs to be more healthy places to eat in Manchester
Today, I spoke to Alex Mackie, 25, who is the General Manager of healthy-living cafe, The Green Lab which is located in The Northern Quarter to find out more about the business and why they decided to create a cafe with a health focus.
The Green Lab is an independent cafe that first opened before COVID and was founded by Kanika Banga and her sister.
Alex said: “the lockdown was when it started and then they carried on serving throughout the lockdown doing deliveries and everything. And then once that ended is when they first really let the public come in and that’s when The Health Lab opened up as well with the Pilates studio, and it’s been going ever since.”
The Green Lab has now become a wellness hub for the community and a place to grab a delicious takeaway without compromising your health.
Alex said: “there aren’t that many places in town that do healthy food and healthy takeaways and it was inspired to be for office workers and working professionals who are in town Monday to Friday everyday and they wanted to get something, bot not having to get something that’s unhealthy for them.”
Adding: “I have never worked in a place that have more regulars than I have here.”
In addition to the Pilates studio, The Health Lab also offer walking and running clubs for people to come and meet up in the name of fitness and socialisation.
I asked Alex whether he thinks there needs to be more health-focused spaces in Manchester, he said: “Yeah, definitely. [...] I think there needs to be more of an emphasis on a place where people can come and actually spend time rather than just come in, get your food and go.”
The success of The Green Lab and the impact it has had on Manchester is only going to grow as there are plans to expand the business, Alex said: “We’ve actually got a new site opening in Altrincham potentially in the next couple of weeks, the provisional date at the minuet is the 7th of June. It’s going to primarily be a health lab site with a brand new Pilates studio, infrared studio and they’re going to have a small section there where you can build your own acai bowls, protein shakes and smoothies.”
It certainly seems like exciting times are ahead for The Green Lab! Head down to Dale Street to give them a try.